Life / I'm English, but I really like some Polish names. Can I use them for my baby girl? [25]

Personally, I like that. But it may lead to a bit of confusion if someone assumes that since your given name is X you must hail form Y... Similarly, there has been a trend for English sounding names in Poland, or 'neutral' sounding names for Polish children born in the English speaking world (Wiktoria, Julia, Damian, Dawid), but in Poland its now back to the more 'traditional' Polish names like Zofia, Antoni, Jan, Jędrzej, etc...

I was once at a playground in the UK, and overheard a parent calling out: "Radek! Radek!". We later had a chat, and it turned out that the parents were both British, had no Polish ancestors, but had lived in Poland and really liked the name. I thought that was neat...

Good luck with choosing... ;-)

Work / Monthly expenditure for living in Warsaw, excluding apartment? [11]

I would say a rough estimate would be PLN2,000/head/mo, but may vary greatly depending on your lifestyles...

Work / Job prospects for working in Poland - U.S. & Polish/EU Citizen [6]

That's great - what qualifications/experience/education level do you hold?

Work / Job prospects for working in Poland - U.S. & Polish/EU Citizen [6]

Language skills alone will not take you places, I am afraid... Competition is very stiff in PL. What you need to have to make it is a meaningful degree from a solid university, some years of (again) meaningful experience, and marketable skills (plus don't forget the luck factor). I'm not sure how much good a bare bones business degree will do you (and to be honest, probably not much). At the moment the IT sector is where all of the action is...

Good luck!

Work / Monthly expenditure for living in Warsaw, excluding apartment? [11]

Here's a quick comparison with a breakdown; from your nickname, I assumed you're in Quebec (?), so for a Cost of Living Comparison Between Montreal v Warsaw:

<<You would need around 8,400zł (3,050C$) in Warsaw to maintain the same standard of life that you can have with 4,100C$ in Montreal (assuming you rent in both cities). This calculation uses our Consumer Prices Including Rent Index.

Consumer Prices in Warsaw are 28.60% lower than in Montreal
Consumer Prices Including Rent in Warsaw are 25.70% lower than in Montreal
Rent Prices in Warsaw are 17.11% lower than in Montreal
Restaurant Prices in Warsaw are 31.23% lower than in Montreal
Groceries Prices in Warsaw are 45.95% lower than in Montreal
Local Purchasing Power in Warsaw is 34.88% lower than in Montreal >>

Hope that helps some.

Polonia / WHAT DO PEOPLE OF POLAND THINK OF LATIN AMERICAN CULTURE? [4]

Before WWII there were fairly large numbers of Poles immigrating to the South American countries of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, and this would probably be the part of Latin America that Poles would be most familiar with (novelist Witold Gomrowicz lived in Argentina for over 20 years). During the PRL years there were close ties with Cuba for obvious reasons; some Cuban university students went to PL to study. Over the last decade, some TV travel programmes, most notably Boso przez Swiat with Wojciech Cejrowski (although it focuses in large part on the the indigenous peoples of the Amazonia) I thought did a lot to expose Poles to this part of the world. Cejrowski also had an great radio Latin music radio programme - not sure if it still airs?

tvp.pl/styl-zycia/podroze/boso-przez-swiat/wideo
cejrowski.com/radio/index.php?p=podzwrotnikowa

Life / How safe is the city of Bydgoszcz? [9]

It's not any more 'unsafe' than any other city of similar size in PL. And like any other city in the world, it has it's 'nice' and 'not so nice' areas... As you do not mention where you will be moving from, it's impossible to give a comparison...

Real Estate / Zones to live in Bydgoszcz [12]

Also conveniently located Wyżyny used to be quite pleasant, not sure if that has changed...

Life / How safe is the city of Bydgoszcz? [9]

Posted a reply on your other thread ;-)
Parts of Szwederowo and Fordon are not too nice. But other than that, it really all depends on what you are looking for: peace & convenience with schools, etc (if with a family) or more 'urban action' (if single and looking to socialise)... Overall, Bydgoszcz is a nice, liveable city for its size, with lots of green spaces, Myślęcinek, Old Town, entertainment, student population, etc. The closer to city centre, the more action. You need not be obsessed with the 'unsafe' as long as you do not do anything silly (same goes for any other city/country) - once you're on ground there, I'm sure you will be able to find an area that best fits your needs.... since you are not familiar with the city, personally I would initially look for something closer to work...

Work / Is salary of 3000 Euros gross enough to live decently in Lodz, Poland? [53]

abc-podatki.pl/srednie-wynagrodzenie-krajowe/

According to the above, latest national average salary (4th quarter of 2013) is: 3,834 zł, so 18,000 zł is only about 4.7x the national average...'Survivng' on that much should not be one of your worries ;-)

Here's a comparison for Europe:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_in_Europe_by_monthly_average_wage

Work / Is salary of 3000 Euros gross enough to live decently in Lodz, Poland? [53]

What do you mean?

Work / Is salary of 3000 Euros gross enough to live decently in Lodz, Poland? [53]


Remember that salaries are quoted gross, unless otherwise noted. If you are 3,200 net, you may or may not be above the average net, depending of your form of employment: pensje.net/kalkulator/3834netto


I have not analysed the source data for other countries; however, the data for Poland is straight from its official source, the Central Statistics Office: stat.gov.pl/gus/5840_1786_ENG_HTML.htm


???

Work / Is salary of 3000 Euros gross enough to live decently in Lodz, Poland? [53]


Got the point. Now what does it have to do with the average?

Work / Is salary of 3000 Euros gross enough to live decently in Lodz, Poland? [53]


A very valid point indeed; nevertheless, the average still seems to be the international standard, so why should PL be presenting its data any differently??? The same argument could be made against any other country - the average is just an average, nothing more and nothing less.

Work / Is salary of 3000 Euros gross enough to live decently in Lodz, Poland? [53]


Correct. And this is where confusion abounds, as the average does not tell us anything about the distribution. In fact, probably less than a third take home at least this average. Nevertheless, it is still a valid quick measure of a country's economic standing, we should not be denying the obvious.

Law / Registration of right hand drive cars in Poland - possible? [82]

Just heard the news, the verdict is that PL/LT need to change their regulations to allow RHD vehicle registration...

europeanvoice.com/article/2014/march/court-tells-poland-lithuania-to-accept-right-hand-drive-cars/80169.aspx

Law / Registration of right hand drive cars in Poland - possible? [82]


So according to you this has NOTHING to do with concerns for safety of all potentially affected road users??? It's not hard to predict what would happen should the accident statistics worsen as a result... I'm not sure who would be willing to take that risk.

Law / Registration of right hand drive cars in Poland - possible? [82]

The first link is spot on - we all acknowledge that there is a huge problem with driver discipline, so I can understand that there is some reservation to giving the green light to the influx of potentially thousands of RHD cars as it is likely to have a negative impact given the reduced visibility on overtaking manoeuvres. And the concern is not so much for the idiot kamikaze drivers, but rather their innocent victims...

By sharing the 2nd link of idiots on wheels - what exactly were you attempting to convey? That the average Pole treats their car this way???

Language / What computer keyboards are in use in Poland? [34]


Note the two are different...

Language / What computer keyboards are in use in Poland? [34]

The British layout features an oversized return/enter key which I like a lot...

Law / Registration of right hand drive cars in Poland - possible? [82]


Are we counting in the millions now??? Where did that figure come from? The highest estimate I've come across was a measly 600k to 800k.


I am sure that the numbers will rise for sure initially, but by how much we'll need to wait and see. First of all, it's not the case that people are holding off with a vehicle purchase now until they can their hands on a cheaper RHD car. They purchase used up and beat up Western EU vehicles. So there is a number of potential buyers who will benefit from the cheaper but at the same time younger/safer vehicles, especially those who have connections with the UK/IE. On the other hand, how many potential buyers in PL with no real relation to the RHD countries (and those who are not British motoring enthusiasts) will willingly buy into the intrinsic inconvenience & hindered driver vision (hence reduced safety)???

UK, Ireland / London Strip Clubs? What's it like for women working there? [74]

The OP reminded me of a Dr Brooke Magnanti, who wrote under the pen name Belle de Jour to describe the encounters she had as a high-class call girl while earning money for her PhD, and who now lives in Bristol where she's a research scientist for The Bristol Initiative for Research of Child Health... news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8361557.stm

Life / Is it common for Polish people to speak English in Poland? [122]

I suppose a good measure of how well English is spoken in a given country is a comparison with the others in the region; from own experience, the highest level of English among your ''average" person when backpacking was probably in Romania; lowest probably in Poland/Hungary/Albania/Slovenia.

Real Estate / Rental prices in Warsaw - article; it gives a useful idea of how the different "gminas" are positioned. [6]

I may have to move to Warsaw later in the year and so would need to find something sensible - what is the nearest junction if don't want to give the full address (or maybe you would even know if there are flats available to either rent or buy in this development)?

Law / Registration of right hand drive cars in Poland - possible? [82]


As stated numerous times: appalling lack of PL driver discipline leading to still worsened safety conditions on the road.

Life / Advice needed on Dental implant in Poland [119]

Where?

Food / Does British bitter appeal to Poles? 'good draught beer' [3]

That's obviously up to our taste buds as individuals, but personally I would have to side with your wife. It's tough to match the taste of English ales/bitters, not to mention the great variety of local brews available at your average English pub (not the case in Poland/US).

Food / Where can I buy Swedka Swedish vodka in Warsaw? [12]

Smirnoff's not Polish.
Sobieski? I don't like the taste...I would give Wyborowa or Luksusowa a try, also Gorzka Żołądkowa, and Orzeł - the last one is distilled 5x.

If ever in doubt, one rule of thumb when selecting vodka is the number of times it's been distilled: the higher the number, the less harsh on your liver it will be... ;-)

Food / Where can I buy Swedka Swedish vodka in Warsaw? [12]

Why the cheap shot at the Russians? Good vodka is good vodka, full stop, and can be found be it Russia (I personally prefer it to Polish vodka: Putinka, Moskovskaya, Stolichnaya, Russkiy Standard), Kazahstan, Mongolia, France...

History / How come Poles like Russians but not Germans? [216]


I very much doubt that. Simply take the number of Poles slaughtered by the Nazis during WWII and compare that with the Soviets: the ratio is probably in the range of 90% to 10%. Russians, like it or not, are our fellow Slavic cousins sharing common language roots and customs, and along with the Czechs, are the three legendary brother nations: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lech,_%C4%8Cech,_and_Rus. Such close historic ties simply do not exist with the Germans.